Letters To Koko

 Dear Koko,  When I was young I heard these stories of my father growing up with so many siblings and cousins in the same house. They would be running around the village enjoying themselves like there is no tomorrow. My mother's side had similar stories - of festivals and bhai phonta.  I grew up as a single child but always had cousins around me, at least in the same city. So if it was a birthday or a family function, you would have those familiar faces who you could look at as you were cornered by a pesky relative and they could make you smile from across the room. Sometimes I think about you and feel such a secluded childhood you are having. Your cousins are in different cities, in different parts of the world. you don't really know them. The other day you tell me, "when we go to Kolkata this time will we visit my cousins?" "Which ones" I ask.  "The ones who had a dog named Goochie" You were referring to a friend's kids. I correct you and you...

  Hey Koko, Since you are six years old now and in Class 1, I have started treating you like a big boy. I don’t need to do everything for you, so I encourage you to independently complete your work. Finish your food, dress yourself, comb your hair, keep you room arranged. The initiative is well, in the initiative stage still. Have not seen a great amount of success very honestly. Routinely I see unfinished food on the table and you sitting somewhere far away, daydreaming, or playing or some such. The room is a mess, the hairstyle is suspect, and don’t get me started on the t-shirt worn wrong. Now your father has an insatiable appetite to put up with such whims, I do not. After being patient for a while, I feel, the boy will go hungry, let me feed him. He will learn to finish food another day. If things go this way, his hair will never be properly combed, so I brush your hair again. You wear your pants such that the drawstrings are at the back and you pretend to be monkey. No mo...